By Louise Kursmark, CPRW, JCTC, CEIP, CCM
If you’re doing a lot of online job searching, take a close look at your cover letter. Is it interesting? To the point? Focused on the most important value you offer? Does it invite the reader to scroll down to view your resume or click to open the attachment?
While email cover letters don’t differ dramatically from traditional printed letters, consider making them shorter, punchier, and more to the point. Don’t lose your reader’s interest… it’s far too easy to hit “close” or “delete” without reading through your entire letter and even getting to the resume.
As with all your job-search materials, your cover letter should focus on the value you offer to a potential employer. It should not be a recap of your resume or a lengthy history of your career.
Can you use a cover letter to explain or expand upon material in your resume? Yes, to a point. The cover letter is the appropriate place to communicate relocation preferences, reason for your current search, and other potentially helpful information. But since cover letters are often detached from the resume, and because some people make it a point not to read cover letters, you should not count on your cover letter to convey any vital information that is not contained in the resume.
And what about including salary information in a cover letter? In general, it’s best not to disclose this information up front. Instead, try to create interest and establish a dialogue. Once there is mutual interest – you in the company and the company in you – then is the time to talk about compensation. And you can safely ignore most requests for salary history or salary requirements that are included in want ads; research shows that hiring authorities will review your resume even if you don’t respond to their request for salary information. The exception, of course, is those ads or postings that clearly state, “Responses without salary information will not be considered.” In those instances it’s best to respond with a salary range rather than a fixed amount.
To sum it up… when sending your resume via email, start off with a short, direct cover letter that briefly introduces who you are and entices the reader to look at your resume – and, of course, to call you for an interview.
Here’s an example of a “to-the-point” email cover letter:
- To: cohen_p@xyzcorp.com
From: rbcallahan@yahoo.com
Re: Raleigh Sales Opening – TOP PRODUCER, 8 YRS. MED/PHARM SALES
With a consistent record of top performance with Merck and Siemens, I have skills and experience that will be valuable in your Raleigh territory. May we meet? I’d like to share my ideas for increasing sales in the territory, based on my track record of turning around dormant and unprofitable sales regions.
Attached is a copy of my resume (MS Word format); I am also pasting the text below in the event that is more convenient for you.
I will call on Friday to see when it would be convenient for us to talk.
Sincerely,
Richard Callahan